Police Officer salary
What a police officer actually earns, from 534 live job postings blended with the official US OEWS (Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics) wage anchor. Pick a market for its median and range, then read the seniority split, the trend, and the country comparison below. Updated 2026-07-23.
Switch the market above to see police officer pay in the 2 countries our sources cover, each with its own cost of living. The trend, seniority, and state detail below are United States data, where the official record runs deepest.
What the number means
A police officer earns a blended US median near 41,453 dollars, with the typical middle running from 35,325 dollars to 64,783 dollars. The official OEWS median is higher, 76,290 dollars, because job ads skew toward the roles that pay below the occupation-wide average. The official trend has moved up about 21 percent since 2019. Demand is rated high, and 0% of postings are fully remote. The nearest adjacent move on our skill graph is compliance officer, at 15 percent coverage; the instrument maps the rest.
Open police officer roles
Live openings tagged to this occupation, from company career pages and remote boards. Apply at the source.
- POLICE OFFICER (INSTRUCTOR)Commander, Navy Installations Command · Little Creek Amphibious Base, Virginia$54k–$76kJul 21
- Supervisory Police OfficerGovernment Publishing Office · Washington, District of Columbia$97k–$141kJul 21
- POLICE OFFICERAir Mobility Command · Charleston AFB, South Carolina$54k–$71kJul 20
- LEAD POLICE OFFICERPacific Air Forces · Elmendorf AFB, Alaska$78k–$96kJul 20
- SUPERVISORY POLICE OFFICER (WATCH COMMANDER)U.S. Marine Corps · New Orleans, Louisiana$68k–$88kJul 20
- SUPERVISORY POLICE OFFICERCommander, Navy Installations Command · Indian Head, Maryland$76k–$99kJul 20
By country
- United States$35,325 – $64,783 · median $41,453
- United Kingdom$43,445 – $56,745 · median $56,745
Top-paying US states
OEWS median by state, highest first.
- Californiamedian $115,400
- Washingtonmedian $104,140
- Illinoismedian $101,530
- Alaskamedian $100,300
- Coloradomedian $96,100
- New Yorkmedian $93,050
Is your offer fair?
Run a specific number through FairElephant, which weighs it against this data, your location, and remote market rates.
Related salaries
- Compliance Officer salary$97,674 median
- Physical Therapist salary$103,254 median
- Nurse Practitioner salary$95,455 median
Quick answers
How much does a police officer make?
The blended US median is about 41,453 dollars, with a typical range from 35,325 dollars to 64,783 dollars, against an official OEWS median of 76,290 dollars.
Is police officer a good career in 2026?
Demand for the role is rated high in our July 2026 corpus, with 0% of postings fully remote. The pay is shown above by seniority and by country.
What can a police officer move into?
The nearest adjacent role on our skill graph is compliance officer, at 15 percent skill coverage. Run the instrument for the full set of reachable moves.
Method: bands are the 25th, 50th, and 75th percentiles of live US postings with stated pay, shrunk toward the official OEWS anchor by sample size (the “blended” figure). Trend is the OEWS annual median for SOC (Standard Occupational Classification) code 33-3051. Unemployment is the 2025 BLS (Bureau of Labor Statistics) CPS (Current Population Survey) annual-average rate for “Police officers.” Live corpus 534 observations, 2026-07-23. Definitions in the glossary.